If you don't know where you're going, you can't get lost.

"If you don't know where you're going, you can't get lost" is a paraphrased line from the book by William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways. If you haven't already done so, pick up a copy and read it slow and deliberate over a period of weeks or months. It is so packed with observations and information about human nature found along the side of American back roads, it should be savored over a period of time, just like Heat-Moon did when he experienced it firsthand. He drove these less-traveled thoroughfares of America with an Easy Rider-esque motive in mind...to see this country the way it should be seen...up close and off the beaten path.

I often times feel lost. Maybe it's because I am a planner, a goal setter, a person who sets expectations. And when these plans, goals, and expectations don't work out, the disappointment kicks in, and that feeling of lost swells in my head. Shortly thereafter, I establish a new set of goals or readjust the old ones, and the cycle begins again...sometimes daily, sometimes monthly, sometimes yearly.

To me, it is obvious that the writer of Blue Highways had found himself in the same situation, time and time again. He had a strong desire to get off that merry-go-round, find some space, and simply see what comes along. It culminated with the writing of a non-fiction best seller.

If you don't know where you're going, you can't get lost. Of course, lost is a state of mind. Even if you think you don't know where you are, you are not lost...you have reached some destination, some point in your life worth savoring. Every little step along the way in your life is simply part of the journey...it is not the destination. Of course, we all need to get from point A to point B on occasion, that's reality. We need to go to the store, we need to go to work and complete certain tasks, we need to set out on little journeys every day of our lives. The key to surviving these preplanned itineraries is by no means a secret. It is to enjoy the journey and not obsess on the destination.

The other key? Make plans to have no plans...just like William Least Heat-Moon did! An acquaintance of mine (who happens to be my boss at work) is doing that right now. Yes, he also happens to be a big fan of Blue Highways, and therein lies the reason for his plan for a no-plan vacation this week. He and his wife set out on a road trip, toward the Sierra Madres and points "east". That's it...that's their plan. With a sprinkling of expectations to relax, rejuvenate, and re-evaluate. That's it.

As I get older, I get more sentimental about the simple things in life. Spending a day off with Loretta. Enjoying a day off with myself. Heading out with my camera and no particular photo project in mind. Going to the grocery store without a shopping list (never do this when experiencing moderate hunger pangs though). Over the last few years, we have "planned" trips to Disneyland several times...and always canceled them. Too much of a hassle! The specter of driving 500 miles, including transversing the L.A. basin, for a few short hours fighting crowds of rude foreign tourists at The Happiest Place on Earth has lost it's appeal.

I would rather "plan" to drive 500 miles (round trip) through Gold Country with no particular destination in mind. And that is what we are going to do this Fall. When? Don't know...no plans yet. What route? Don't know. Our goal? Relax, rejuvenate, re-evaluate. We simply "plan" to not get lost. How can you get lost if you don't know where you're going?